The lower rankings were fully revealed, and rewards began to be distributed

[Sixth place: Water-Condensing Flying Luan, Shui Bing'er.]

[Reason for ranking: A flying luan with phoenix blood, a Martial Soul with the ultimate ice attribute, and an exceptional aptitude for comprehending the Law of Ice.]

[Assessment: Pure stats.]

At Skywater Academy, Shui Yue'er hugged Shui Bing'er excitedly, nuzzling against her affectionately again and again.

Shui Bing'er had never expected to make the Pride of Heaven Ranking herself, much less take sixth place.

After all, the title of the seventh-place entrant had been far too terrifying. Once the words "Lord of the Netherworld" appeared, hardly anyone on the Douluo Continent would have thought themselves capable of ranking above that Hell Spirit Cat. Yet, to her surprise, she had made the Pride of Heaven Ranking, and even placed above Zhu Zhuqing.

But wasn't this description a little too perfunctory?

"Sis, why bother with any of that? Making the ranking is enough. As long as you're on it, you get a Soul Bone anyway."

Shui Yue'er had a point, so Shui Bing'er simply stopped dwelling on it.

And Skywater Academy was not the only place where the same question arose.

Inside Spirit Hall, Hu Liena also looked at Bibi Dong in puzzlement.

"Teacher, Shui Bing'er's description isn't nearly as impressive as Zhu Zhuqing's. Why is she ranked higher?"

Bibi Dong pondered for a long while before shaking her head. "I don't know either. Perhaps the Heavenly Ranking doesn't rank people simply by how grand their titles sound. There may well be hidden rules. We can only wait for more rankings to appear, then compare and analyze them."

Hu Liena nodded solemnly, but the stern old man's expression she forced onto her cute little face only made her look utterly adorable.

Yan watched from the side without blinking, almost entranced.

[The lower half of the Pride of Heaven Ranking has been fully revealed. The upper rankings will continue to be revealed in seven days. Rewards will be distributed shortly.]

Bibi Dong's eyes flashed. "I wonder how these prizes will be distributed. If it works the way I think it does, the world may soon be plunged into chaos."

At that thought, she immediately gave an order. "Of the five people revealed on the Pride of Heaven Ranking so far, aside from Tang San in tenth place, have you located any of the others?"

Gui Mei emerged from the shadows of the great hall and bowed. Clearly, he had already been there for some time. "Your Holiness, after reviewing records from the past twenty years, we have gathered information on all their backgrounds.

"Oscar, in ninth place, comes from the vicinity of Barak City, under the Heaven Dou Empire's jurisdiction. Ever since awakening his Martial Soul, he has remained active around Barak City."

"Ye Lingling, in eighth place, currently attends Heaven Dou Royal Academy."

"Zhu Zhuqing, in seventh place, is the second young lady of the Star Luo Empire's Zhu Family. Their family has intermarried with the imperial family for generations. This second young lady of the Zhu Family is also currently active around Barak City."

"Shui Bing'er, in sixth place, has been confirmed to be attending Skywater Academy."

"Very good." Bibi Dong nodded slightly. "Ghost Douluo, I order you and Chrysanthemum Douluo to head to Barak City immediately. Find those two talents on the Heavenly Ranking and ensure their safety as far as possible. Also, dispatch four Titled Douluo elders to Heaven Dou Royal Academy and Skywater Academy respectively. Time is short. Act immediately."

Elder Gui Mei accepted the order, then turned into a shadow and vanished.

Just as with the announcement of the rankings, the rewards for the Pride of Heaven Ranking also seemed to be distributed from lowest to highest.

A Soul Bone slowly drifted down from the sky, then hovered before Tang San.

"They really did distribute a Soul Bone."

Tang Hao found it somewhat unbelievable. He had watched the Soul Bone's entire descent intently, yet had completely failed to see when it had appeared.

As expected, this power probably came from a god.

"San, I'll stand guard. Hurry and absorb this Soul Bone."

The Soul Bone's type and skill were entirely random; the recipient could not choose them.

Tang San was lucky, however. It was a torso bone, and its accompanying Soul Skill was called Robust Growth. After absorbing it, his Soul Power cultivation would grow faster and faster, and his body would become stronger and stronger.

Tang San nodded, but before he could begin absorbing it, another Soul Bone drifted down from the sky and landed right in front of Oscar.

"My Soul Bone's here too!" Oscar was extremely excited. His hands trembled slightly as he reached forward, but a large hand had already seized the Soul Bone firmly before he could touch it.

Oscar looked at Tang Hao in utter confusion. "Uncle Tang, why are you taking my Soul Bone?"

"Your Soul Bone? Call out to it. Will it answer you?"

Oscar's face instantly flushed red. "That's clearly the Soul Bone the Pride of Heaven Ranking gave me! How can you steal my things? Besides, San and I are classmates. Right, San? Say something for me!"

Tang San still looked as though he could not bear it. After all, they had spent quite some time together at Shrek Academy and had developed a bond as classmates.

"Father, please give the Soul Bone back to Oscar."

Tang Hao glared irritably at Tang San, immediately frightening him into silence.

"If I give it back to him, what are you going to absorb? I'm doing all this for you! Shut your mouth right now and absorb your Soul Bone quietly."

Seeing Tang Hao lose his temper, Tang San dared not say anything more.

Oscar could not beat him in a fight, so he sought Flender's help. Flender steeled himself and stepped forward to speak.

"Your Excellency Clear Sky, surely it's inappropriate to bully the young and forcibly seize a ranked talent's reward like this?"

"What's inappropriate about it? He's only a food-type Soul Master anyway. Even if he has decent talent, what could he possibly achieve in the future? A thing without the slightest combat ability."

"I'm doing this for his sake too, helping him build a bond with San. When San becomes powerful in the future, he'll take good care of Oscar for the sake of this Soul Bone."

Flender's heart went cold. Tang Hao was banking on the fact that food-type Soul Masters had little offensive power even after they developed.

Oscar's face turned crimson with pent-up frustration, but he did not dare utter a word.

"Hmph. Boy, I'd advise you to behave yourself. Consider this Soul Bone a loan. Once San has absorbed a full set of Soul Bones and we've hunted down some extras, I'll return it to you. Understand?"

Under the pressure of Tang Hao's gaze, Oscar dared not say anything. He could only nod silently, then squat off to the side without another word.

Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, standing nearby, had also become quails with their heads tucked in.

They had never expected this. They had thought making the Pride of Heaven Ranking was a good thing, but watching its reward get snatched away before their very eyes was worse than not making the ranking at all.

Although they were somewhat angry over Oscar's Soul Bone being taken, the two of them were nothing but baby chicks before Tang Hao. If he did not restrain himself a little, his pressure alone could crush them both to death.

"Oh, I didn't look closely before. This is a torso bone too. Let me see the Soul Skill. Hmm, Fire Element Control? San already has a torso bone, so he can't absorb this one. What a pity."

At those words, Oscar's eyes instantly lit up.

Since Tang San could not absorb it, didn't that mean...

As though noticing Oscar's gaze, Tang Hao gave a derisive laugh. "Consider yourself lucky. This Soul Bone will count as your tribute to me. Later, I'll trade it for a better Soul Bone for San."

A short while later, Tang San finished absorbing his Soul Bone. The Soul Bones bestowed by the Pride of Heaven Ranking seemed particularly easy to absorb.

"Your Excellency Clear Sky, aren't you afraid of incurring the Pride of Heaven Ranking's wrath by forcibly seizing and absorbing a ranked talent's Soul Bone like this?"

Oscar was a student of the academy, after all, and Flender could not help speaking up again.

"Oh, since you've spoken up, I'll give this Soul Bone back to him."

Tang Hao lightly tossed the Soul Bone up and dropped it in front of himself. "Come take it. I'm giving it back."

Oscar's face filled with joy, and he hurried forward. But after only two steps, he hit the ground on both knees with a thud. Tang Hao had used his pressure to force him to kneel.

"Crawl over."

Oscar foolishly started to crawl forward, but Flender saw what was happening and hurried over to block him. "We don't want this Soul Bone anymore. It's yours."

Tang Hao chuckled and was just about to toy with them some more when he seemed to sense something and darted away.